Syria rebels seize air base

In blow to Assad government, 16-day siege ends with fall of military air defense facility

Associated Press

Published 9:47 pm, Saturday, March 23, 2013

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In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, mourners carry the body of Sheik Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Buti, an 84-year-old pro-government cleric during his funeral in the eighth century Omayyad Mosque, in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, March 23, 2013. Al-Buti, his grandson and scores of others were killed Thursday, March 21, 2013 when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives inside a mosque where al-Buti was giving a religious lesson. His assassination was a blow to Assad, who vowed Friday to avenge his death. (AP Photo/SANA) less

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, mourners carry the body of Sheik Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Buti, an 84-year-old pro-government cleric during his funeral in the eighth century ... more

Photo: HOPD

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In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, mourners carry the body of Sheik Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Buti, an 84-year-old pro-government cleric during his funeral in the eighth century Omayyad Mosque, in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, March 23, 2013. Al-Buti, his grandson and scores of others were killed Thursday, March 21, 2013 when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives inside a mosque where al-Buti was giving a religious lesson. His assassination was a blow to Assad, who vowed Friday to avenge his death. (AP Photo/SANA) less

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, mourners carry the body of Sheik Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Buti, an 84-year-old pro-government cleric during his funeral in the eighth century ... more

Photo: HOPD

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In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, mourners pray during the funeral of Sheik Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Buti, an 84-year-old pro-government cleric in the courtyard of the eighth century Omayyad Mosque, in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, March 23, 2013. Al-Buti, his grandson and scores of others were killed Thursday, March 21, 2013 when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives inside a mosque where al-Buti was giving a religious lesson. His assassination was a blow to Assad, who vowed Friday to avenge his death. (AP Photo/SANA) less

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, mourners pray during the funeral of Sheik Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Buti, an 84-year-old pro-government cleric in the courtyard of the eighth ... more

Photo: HOPD

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In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, mourners carry the body of Sheik Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Buti, an 84-year-old pro-government cleric, into the eighth century Omayyad Mosque, in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, March 23, 2013. Al-Buti, his grandson and scores of others were killed Thursday, March 21, 2013 when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives inside a mosque where al-Buti was giving a religious lesson. His assassination was a blow to Assad, who vowed Friday to avenge his death. (AP Photo/SANA) less

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, mourners carry the body of Sheik Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Buti, an 84-year-old pro-government cleric, into the eighth century Omayyad Mosque, in ... more

Photo: HOPD

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Lebanon's Yousef Mohammad, left, fights for the ball against Thailand's Anthony Ampaipitakwong, during the 2015 Asian Cup qualifier match, in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday March 22, 2013. Lebanon trounced Thailand 5-2 in a 2015 Asian Cup qualifier to give the country's football fans a much-needed morale boost after their sport was hit by a match-fixing scandal. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) less

Syrian rebels on Saturday seized a major air defense base in a strategic region in the south near the Jordanian border, the latest battlefield triumph for fighters seeking to topple President Bashar Assad, activists said.

Fighters with a rebel group active in the south stormed and seized control of the base used by the 38th Division after a 16-day siege, according to a statement posted on websites of the group known as the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade.

The base near the village of Saida is situated along the international highway linking the Syrian capital, Damascus, with Jordan to the south.

Fighting in Syria's southern provinces bordering Jordan and Israel has increased sharply in the past few days. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said dozens of people, mostly opposition fighters, were killed in heavy clashes this week in the Quneitra region along the cease-fire line between Syria and Israel in the Golan Heights.

The Britain-based group, which relies on a network of activists on the ground, said it had documented the deaths of 35 opposition fighters and that contact had been lost with more than 20 others believed to have died in the fighting. Dozens of others were wounded, the group said.

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The fighting in the area intensified midweek after rebels seized a village and parts of other villages, closing in on the strategic plateau that Israel captured from Syria in 1967 and later annexed.

If the rebels take over the Quneitra region, it will bring radical Islamic militants to a front line with Israeli troops. The rebel force comprises dozens of groups, including the powerful al-Qaida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra, which the Obama administration labels a terrorist organization.

The Observatory said al-Nusra was among fighters who seized the air base in Daraa province.

Both the rebels and the observatory reported that the opposition fighters killed the base commander.

In Damascus, supporters of Assad gathered in downtown amid tight security for the funeral of one of Syria's best-known clerics who was assassinated in a mosque bombing earlier this week.

Security forces sealed off all roads leading to the eighth century Omayyad Mosque where the funeral for Sheik Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Buti, an 84-year-old pro-government cleric, was held.

Al-Buti, his grandson and 48 others were killed Thursday when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives inside a mosque where al-Buti was giving a religious lesson.

His assassination was a blow to Assad, who vowed Friday to avenge his death, saying he would "purge" the country of the militants behind the attack in the heart of the capital.